AFL Round 2 – Saturday

Have we seen the beginning of the end for the Hawks this season? Surprised in Round 1 by the super hungry Bombers, the Hawks looked second rate at times. The Crows on the other hand after the first quarter where sublime against a highly fancied Giants running away very easy winners. The Crows are highly underrated outside of South Australia and are one of the most even sides playing. It doesn’t seem to matter who is in or out, the next one steps up. The Hawks will need a few games to get settled on paper, they still look every bit a premiership contender but with the some key player changes over the summer and Roughy coming back in it seems too unsettled a little.

The Crows forward line is dynamic, big, strong marking forwards and with the electricity of Betts and Cameron they are a force to be reckoned with. Their no name defence gets the job done and match up well with Hawthorns star studded forward line.

Hodge returning is huge for the Hawks. What he brings to the team is unmeasurable you will not find a better leader in the competition. Will it be enough though to get the Hawks up?

The Crows match up well and are very efficient with ball use so the Hawks can’t cut them up like they do other teams. The Crows won’t give them the opportunities other sides do to get the easy rebound scores and they have the pace to match the likes of Burgoyne and Rioli. The Midfield battle between Mitchell, Hodge and Sloane will be very exciting to watch.

Prediction; Crows 14 points

#puntr Best Bet:Crows -6.5 $1.91, Crows H2H $1.80

Greater Western Sydney Giants vs Gold Coast Suns

3 years ago most predicted these two teams would be battling it out for the next 3 premierships. They where half right. The Giants could be forgiven for last weeks effort against a very strong Crows team in Adelaide in 36 degree heat but they need to absolutely put the Suns to the sword today. The Suns last week where so disappointing yet good to be 40 points behind a Lions side that most tipped would be lucky to win a game, then come storming home to just miss out by 2 points. Lets make it clear; both Queensland teams will struggle all year and possibly the only games they win will be against each other. The Suns show promise and any side with the name Ablett in it will have some epic moments. The Suns have the potential to be a good side but seem to lack the drive or culture. Flip the coin and you have the Giants, the newest team in the AFL making no mistake. They have what it takes to be that powerhouse most expect.

I can only see this going one way and its a Giants team looking for redemption after getting embarrassed last week, they looked to have a few players down last week and will use this game to springboard their season with a big win.